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Weather Hazards » UK Weather Hazards: The Somerset Levels Floods

What you'll learn this session

Study time: 30 minutes

AQA spec: 3.1.1.3

The main types of weather hazard in the UK
Why the Somerset Levels flooded in 2014
The social, economic and environmental impacts, and how risk was reduced
Evidence that UK weather is becoming more extreme

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Weather hazards in the UK

Flat, low-lying land like the Somerset Levels flooded for weeks in early 2014

The UK does not have hurricanes, but its weather can still be dangerous. Because the UK sits in the path of the westerlies, it gets a constant stream of weather systems from the Atlantic. Some of these become hazards.

🌧 Heavy rain and flooding

Long spells of rain, or sudden downpours, can make rivers burst their banks and flood towns and farmland.

🌪 Storms and strong winds

Deep low pressure systems bring gales that knock down trees, damage roofs and cut power lines.

❄ Snow, ice and cold

Heavy snow and ice close roads, rail lines and schools, and are dangerous for older people.

☀ Heatwaves and drought

Long hot, dry spells cause water shortages, crop damage and health problems. Wildfires can start on dry moorland.

Fog, thunderstorms with lightning, and hail are other UK weather hazards. Each one can affect people, homes, businesses and the environment.

Key terms:

Extreme weather event: weather that is far more severe than normal, such as record rainfall or very strong winds.
Dredging: digging out silt and mud from the bed of a river so it can carry more water.

Case study: the Somerset Levels floods, 2014

The Somerset Levels are a large, flat area of low-lying land in south-west England. Much of the land is only just above sea level. The rivers Parrett and Tone drain across it towards the Bristol Channel. When these rivers fill up, the water has nowhere to go.

In the winter of 2013-14, a long run of storms crossed the Atlantic and hit southern England. It was one of the wettest winters on record. Large areas of the Levels flooded and stayed under water for weeks.

Causes of the flooding

🌧 Physical causes

A series of Atlantic storms brought very heavy rainfall, and the ground was already soaked, so extra water ran straight off. The land is flat and low, so water drains away slowly. High tides and strong winds also made it harder for the rivers to flow out to sea.

👷 Human factors

The beds of the rivers Parrett and Tone had filled with silt, so they could hold less water. Many people argued that the rivers should have been dredged earlier. Others said dredging alone would not have stopped a flood this big.

Impacts of the floods

The Somerset floods cut off villages and closed roads for weeks

Social

Hundreds of homes were flooded and some people had to leave. Villages such as Muchelney were cut off for weeks. Roads were closed, so people struggled to reach work, school and shops. Flooding is stressful, and many people worried about their health and their homes.

Economic

Farmers lost grazing land and had to move livestock. Businesses lost customers. Repairing homes, roads and farms cost a lot of money.

Environmental

Wildlife habitats were damaged. The floodwater was polluted with sewage, oil and farm waste, which spread across the land. Once the water drained, it left behind mud and silt.

Common mistakes

Do not write that the floods were caused only by heavy rain. Examiners want you to link physical causes (rain, flat land, tides) and human factors (silted rivers). Also keep social, economic and environmental impacts separate. Money lost belongs in economic, not social.

Management strategies to reduce the risk

After the floods, many people were angry about how long the water stayed. A number of strategies were used to reduce the risk of the same thing happening again.

Pumping: during the floods, powerful pumps moved water off the land and back into the rivers.
Dredging: from March 2014, about 8 km of the rivers Parrett and Tone were dredged so that they could hold more water.
The Flood Action Plan: a 20 year plan was published in 2014. It included raising some key roads so villages stay connected, and a tidal barrier on the River Parrett at Bridgwater to stop the tide pushing water up the river.
Warnings and planning: flood warnings tell people to move belongings and leave early. Local communities also make their own flood plans.

Worked example: linking cause and strategy

Cause: the river beds had filled with silt, so they held less water. Strategy: dredging. Reason it helps: a deeper channel carries more water, so the river is less likely to burst its banks. Limit: it cannot stop a flood when huge amounts of rain fall quickly.

Is UK weather becoming more extreme?

Many scientists say that it is. The evidence includes:

Temperature: most of the warmest years on record have happened this century. In July 2022 the UK recorded 40.3°C for the first time.
Heavy rainfall and flooding: the Somerset Levels floods of 2014 and Storm Desmond in Cumbria in 2015 are examples of extreme wet weather.
Cold snaps: events such as the Beast from the East snow and cold of 2018 show that extreme cold can still happen.

Be careful. A few events do not prove a trend. Scientists look at long-term records over many years. Even so, more frequent extreme events are why flood and heat planning matters so much.

Exam-style question

(a) Name two types of weather hazard that affect the UK. [2 marks]

(b) Explain why the Somerset Levels flooded in 2014. [4 marks]

Model answer

(a) Any two of: flooding / heavy rain, storms and strong winds, snow and ice, heatwaves and drought (1 each).

(b) There were many Atlantic storms and very heavy rainfall in the winter of 2013-14 (1). The ground was already saturated, so water ran off into the rivers (1). The Levels are flat and low-lying, so water drains away slowly (1). The rivers Parrett and Tone had silted up and held less water, and high tides stopped the water leaving (1).

(c) Dredging of the rivers Parrett and Tone was carried out (1) so that the channels could hold more water and be less likely to flood (1).

Exam tip

In an 'explain' question, each mark point needs a reason. Use linking words such as 'because' and 'so' to turn a fact into an explanation.

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